Missourians to get February Food Stamps early due to shutdown
Missourians benefiting from the SNAP program will receive their February Food Stamp benefit by Jan. 20.
The United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SNAP program. FNS informed states of early issuance for payments for February Food Stamps due to the partial federal government shutdown.
“It’s important for families to understand that they will not get a Food Stamp benefit again in February, and we caution them to not immediately spend the benefit because it must feed their family for both months,” said Steve Corsi, Director, Department of Social Services
Food Stamp benefits come from federal funds. Appropriations do not come through the Missouri state budget.
In December 2018, the Food Stamp program served 327,740 Missouri families or 703,365 individuals and the average benefit per household was $256.81 or $119.66 per person. Each month, Missouri receives approximately $84.2 million in Food Stamp benefits from the federal government.
The Department of Social Services, Family Support Division continues to accept and process Food Stamp applications. However, FNS does not guarantee eligible applicants will receive Food Stamp benefits while the partial federal shutdown is in effect.
If a Missourian has a pending Food Stamp verification he must submit their verification to this special email address SNAP@dss.mo.gov . He also can deliver it to an FSD Resource Center by 11:59 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Failure to submit materials on time means the Food Stamp participant will not get a February benefit.
“The Department of Social Services will relay the latest information as it is received from the federal government,” said Corsi. “This is an evolving situation. We encourage impacted Missourians to be vigilant of future updates as new information becomes available.” New information will be updated on the Department’s website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Missourians who have questions or who need information can go to the DSS website, visit their nearest FSD Resource Center, or call the FSD Info Center: 1-855-FSD-INFO (855-373-4636).